Among the Ashes

What if I wanted to break
Laugh it all off in your face
What would you do?
What if I fell to the floor
Couldn't take all this anymore
What would you do?

What if I wanted to fight
Beg for the rest of my life
What would you do?
You say you wanted more
What are you waiting for
I'm not running from you

Kill
Break me down
Bury me, bury me
I am finished with you
Look in my eyes
You're killing me, killing me
All I wanted was you
Come, break me down
Break me down

I tried to be someone else
But nothing seemed to change
I know now, this is who I really am inside
Finally found myself
Fighting for a chance
I know now, this is who I really am

What if I wanted to break...?
~30 Seconds to Mars ”The Kill”

Chapter 61
Going Cold


A soft knock on her bedroom door made Elice’s heart jump with an involuntary rush of excitement. She sat up a little taller against the headboard and stared straight ahead, holding her breath as the door slid open.

“Good morning!”

Zelda’s gentle voice shattered Elice’s foolish, baseless hope. But her heart barely fell this time. Somehow, that hurt more than anything. Even she knew she was giving up hope. But she managed a smile nonetheless.

“Morning.” She greeted Zelda, and watched closely as her friend took slow, careful steps across the wide, spacious room towards the bed.

“Hi!” Manasa beamed from her little perch, curled up with her knees under her on the side of Elice’s bed.

“Hi, Ciara.” Zelda smiled, not looking surprised at all to find her here as well.

“You look better today,” Elice commented, patting the thick mattress covers beside her.

“You look big today,” Mana added with a smile.

“I feel big!” Zelda laughed but it turned into a soft groan as she lowered herself onto the mattress, and settled as comfortably as she could. “I’m still not supposed to walk much,” she said, smoothing the wide, loose front of her shirt down over the large, distinctly rounded bulge in her stomach. “But they said everything seems fine.”

“I wish you’d let me check,” Elice nearly pleaded. “I know they think they know what they’re doing but – ”

“Adelle told me she has delivered lots of human babies,” Zelda insisted. “I trust her to – ”

“You’re not human,” Elice reminded her with a quirk of her eyebrow that made her flinch.

“Careful!” Manasa leaned forward.

“I’m okay,” Elice insisted, lightly touching the soft, gauzy bandages still wrapped on the sides of her face and neck. “Just a little tender, still.”

“Okay.” Mana leaned back slowly. “But we still have plenty of that purple calypsum potion left if you need some.”

“When did you become a Healer?” Elice asked with a twitch of a smile.

“Oh, Zelda showed me all kinds of stuff.” Manasa waved it off, but the pink glow on her pale cheeks gave away her excitement.

“Well, Adelle and the others call them ‘womb babies’,” Zelda went on. “They laugh at how silly it is to carry about a whole baby in your stomach when an egg is so much easier,” she laughed. “I’ve got to say,” she admitted, rubbing her large belly. “They have a point.”

Elice laughed a little, but her eyes stayed locked on Zelda’s stomach.

“Can I?” she asked, lifting her fingers from the covers and reaching out.

Zelda hesitated. “Will it hurt you?”

“No,” Elice said quickly. “Not at all.”

“You’re still healing yourself,” Zelda replied.

“I’m strong enough for this,” Elice insisted, pleading. “Please….”

Zelda looked up into Elice’s eyes, hesitating only a moment before she nodded.

“I’d love you to,” she answered with a smile. “Do you need me to lie down?” she asked, remembering the last time.

“No, it’s okay,” Elice replied, her eyes brightening as she scooted closer, masking a wince as she moved her tender, still-bandaged body. “Just lift your shirt up a little?”

“Do you want me to go?” Manasa asked, already shifting from her spot.

“No, you’re fine.” Zelda reached out to touch Manasa’s wrist, and still her.

“I’ve never… been around babies,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders tightly. Her eyes fell to Zelda’s stomach again and her eyes flashed with fear.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Zelda assured. “We’re both fine. He’s growing every day,” she added with a rueful laugh at her ever-impressive girth. “This is the second tunic they’ve had to find me since we got here.”

Manasa smiled a little shyly. “Why do we keep going places where we have to wear dresses?” she asked, tugging at the hem of her forest green dress.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Elice asked, though she and Manasa exchanged a glance that made them both smile.

“Lucky me,” Zelda teased, indicating her high bust-lined tunic and skirt. “No dress.”

“I think it’s cute,” Mana offered timidly, glancing at Zelda’s stomach again.

“Would you like to touch him?” Zelda asked.

Mana’s grey eyes widened. “Oh, no, I – I’ll break him or something.”

“He’s still inside me,” Zelda giggled. “You can’t hurt him. And by the way he kicks? I think he can hold his own.”

“He’s kicking?” Elice asked, brightening.

“Link hasn’t felt it yet,” Zelda replied, running her hands across her stomach. “But he’s moving, I feel him all the time.” She paused, watching Ciara again. “You can touch him, I promise you won’t hurt him.”

Manasa’s anxious expression grew worse, but she slowly extended her hand and touched Zelda’s stomach through the velvety fabric of her tunic. She tensed for a moment, then her expression softened as she cupped her hand around the bulge.

“It’s soft… and warm,” she commented, then drew back, instantly embarrassed by her comment.

Zelda just smiled and Manasa she settled back down on the bed, curling back against the headboard to watch.

“How many weeks are you now?” Elice asked, moving in closer now.

Zelda thought for a moment. “Just over five months.”

She pulled the loose hem of her shirt up enough to expose her navel and Elice pressed her fingers to the skin.

“Bandages,” she muttered, complaining about the white strips of cloth she still had wrapped around her palms.

But she locked onto the baby’s life-energy through the tips of her fingers, and closed her eyes. The strong heartbeat of the unborn child flowed up through her hands, and she sat in silence for a long while, just feeling it. The pulse of life connected to Zelda’s body now mingled with Elice’s, giving her a momentary glance at what it must feel like to have another life inside of you.

“He’s so strong,” she said softly, speaking almost to herself. “They healed you well…. He’s….”

Her fingers trembled and she pulled away slowly to wipe away unexpected tears.

“Sorry,” she whispered, her lips tugging in a pained smile.

“That’s okay,” Zelda slipped her shirt back down and sat quietly for a moment. Without a word she drew Elice into a careful hug, avoiding the still-healing burns on her stomach, and patches on her arms.

Manasa watched them, drawing closer in around herself as the two women embraced, and cried.

“He still hasn’t come,” Elice wept, drawing her bandaged hand up to her face. “Almost two weeks…. He still hasn’t come.”

Zelda and Manasa exchanged a dark glance over Elice’s shoulder, but both held their tongues.

“He must know.” Elice wiped her eyes with a bandaged hand. “Have you seen him? Talked to him at all?”

Zelda’s eyes tightened but she strained to keep her voice steady. “Link’s spoken with him.”

“Marth, too,” Mana added, not bothering to mask the look of fury on her face. She reached her hand out to Elice’s, hesitating only an instant as she touched the slightly raised scar that wound around Elice’s wrist, left there by the rope Manasa had used to tie her up in a warehouse what seemed an eternity ago. “After what he did,” she said lowly, her chin quivering with the power of emotion in her voice. “You’re better off without him.”

The look on Zelda’s face silently agreed, though she dropped her eyes, and let out a small, quivering breath.

Elice sat stone-still for a moment between them. Her eyes quivered, then shut tight as she leaned over her own lap, heaving a heart-broken sob. She clutched her stomach and winced in pain, crying even more deeply.

“It’s my fault,” she admitted with a shudder. “I made him do it. I wanted him to…. And now he’s gone.” Her voice cracked and she buried her face in her hands, painfully aware of the gauze hiding the scarred burns on her skin.

“Don’t say that,” Manasa whispered, her voice cutting through with quiet, burning conviction. “Don’t you ever say that!” Tears beaded in her own eyes. “He hurt you, Elice. Then he left you. That’s his fault. He’s a coward and a monster and – ”

“Stop,” Elice begged, shaking her head weakly as it hung over her lap. “Don’t….”

“Whatever you did doesn’t excuse him,” Manasa retorted, pleading for understanding. “If he hasn’t come by now – ”

“Why would he come?” Elice looked up slowly, her tears flowing more freely, but silently as she looked between them. “Look at me…” she whispered, indicating her bandages. “I’m ruined….”

Zelda took a steadying breath that couldn’t hold back her tears. “He never loved you because you’re beautiful, Elice.” She squeezed Elice’s uninjured wrist lightly. “He thinks you’re beautiful because he loves you.”

Manasa’s hard eyes fell and she crossed her arms, leaning back against the headboard in silent fury.

Zelda’s words sank into Elice slowly, penetrating the thick callous of fear that had been growing there day by day, minute by minute, as she waited for Roy to appear at her bedside. She didn’t even know if he’d asked about her. If he even cared.

No. She shook her head and broke into fresh tears. She knew him better than that.

“There must be a reason,” she pleaded aloud. “Maybe he’s scared. Maybe….”

“He hurt you,” Manasa whispered, knitting her brow so tightly it crinkled her eyes with pain. “After what he did… why? How do you believe that?”

“Because.” Two streams of tears broke loose from Elice’s swollen, red eyes and she cringed into herself in agony. “Because I love him….”

The irony of it all throbbed in Manasa’s heart. She could see herself in Elice’s eyes. Broken, afraid, and worthless. The way she used to feel. It physically hurt her to see it now – to see such dependence and need, and faith in someone who could only bring her pain.

But she couldn’t deny, she understood it.

Zelda rubbed Elice’s back softly as she cried, letting the emotions run dry.

Manasa curled over her own knees and waited for the sounds of tears to stop. She wanted Marth. She wanted to be held, and touched by someone she knew would never hurt her. Ever.

Elice gave a shudder, and sat up, biting back a moan as she pushed herself out of bed.

“Where are you going?” Zelda asked.

“A walk,” Elice answered, taking a few careful steps to balance herself.

“I’ll come with you,” Manasa offered instantly.

“No,” Elice said quickly, her eyes falling to the floor.

Manasa shrank back, looking slightly stung.

“I need to go alone,” Elice explained. “I need to….”

She didn’t finish her thought, and the other two women watched silently as Elice stepped slowly outside the door.




*****




“Hold that form, Roy – hold it!” Lilina screeched. Her blonde hair hung in sweaty strands, framing her thin face as she watched Roy’s every move with burning red eyes.

Roy stood before her, his face screwed up in intense concentration as he tried to hold onto what he’d done. One large, scaly, clawed arm hung heavily at his side. But his face kept shifting – elongating then shrinking, contorting his features into a strange half-monster form that looked neither human nor dragon.

“Concentrate!” Lilina ordered. “You’ve got to feel it in your core and keep it burning! That fire is your life, Roy. It’s your breath! Breathe!”

He inhaled through his nostrils and let the flaming embers in the pit of his being swell with a slow, controlled release of heat.

“Breathe!” she shouted again.

Jumping at her command, Roy released a roar and an accompanying jet of flames from his mouth. The heat expanded his stomach with such sudden force that he couldn’t suppress it. The force jarred him back, completely breaking his concentration on his form.

“Roy,” Lilina warned, taking a step closer as he curled in around himself, gasping for breath as his transformation went wild. His body twisted, half-transforming into a serpentine-like creature for moments at a time, then quickly shifting back, feature by feature.

“Breathe, Roy!” she shouted. “Concentrate. Don’t let go of it!”

He closed his eyes, and forced his clawed hands to remain in form. His scaly fingers curled and shook with the pressure it took to subdue the heat. But a swell of flames filled him with such a violent burst of power that his mind went blank and he let go, releasing it in any way possible.

“You’ve got this!” Lilina called over his roaring. “Roy, don’t you – augh!” she screamed in frustration and shot a stream of flames from her mouth as Roy’s entire body burst into flames. He staggered back and fell to the floor in a smoldering heap.

Lilina shrieked again and stamped her foot down on the highly polished floor, sending an echo through the open, cavernous hall.

Roy barely noticed her tantrums anymore. He lay on his back, panting and gasping for breath as the flames on his skin slowly died down. The cold marble floor felt good against the bare skin of his damp, sweltering back. He stared up at the sun-filled, arched ceiling above him, letting his eyes refocus from the haze of heat and power still coursing through his veins with a warm tingle.

The floor shook beneath him as Lilina stomped over then stood above him, glowering in disapproval.

“What was that?” she demanded, cursing at him in two different languages.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said breathlessly. “You kicking my – ” he asked, managing to stick a cold bite in his shaky voice. “I’m not ready for this yet! I can barely stop bursting into flames every two seconds, and you want me to turn into a dragon!”

She rolled her eyes and knelt down beside him.

“You are a dragon. You’ve just got to figure that out in here.” She poked her finger sharply on his sweaty forehead, and held it there, hovering over him for a moment as they both fought to catch their breath.

“And here.” She trailed her hand down to his heart. Her warm fingers prickled against his skin as though they were made of ice. He froze, losing his breath again as the pounding of his heart sent another surge of heat up the pit of his stomach.

Her damp hair fell loose over her ear, and she paused for a moment, staring at his eyes.

“They haven’t changed back,” she said thoughtfully.

“W-what?” he asked, shifting a little.

She pressed her whole palm down against his chest to hold him down.

“Your eyes,” she explained. “Haven’t been blue for days.” She smiled. “They’ve settled on a sort of golden orange now…. It’s nice.”

Roy swallowed tightly, gulping in the back of his throat.

Lilina leaned in a little closer, and her voice fell. “Different….”

Roy jerked up for the floor, his heart racing. He stared for a moment, then turned away, pacing as he tried to steady his head.

Lilina’s lips pulled up in a crooked grin and she stood as well, lifting her eyes to the open second floor banister that looked down on the hall. A pair of blue eyes shone down from far above. Even from here Lilina could see the white-knuckled grip of the human’s hands on the railing as she looked down.

Roy slowed enough to follow Lilina’s gaze, then stopped dead in his tracks.

Elice met Roy’s eyes for a fleeting moment that felt like an eternity. She looked like a goddess, standing against the railing of the balcony above, looking down on him with the sunlight glinting off of her long, blue hair. He knew every line of her body, the form and shape of her figure as she stood, looking down at him with that face. Her face. Still bandaged.

He turned away, and he didn’t look back.

“You haven’t gone to see her,” Lilina commented, sweeping her hair back to smooth the flyways down.

Roy kept his eyes on the ground. “No, I haven’t.”

She paused curiously. “Why?”

He looked up with a glare. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Lilina shrugged. “You’re talking to someone who’s over a thousand years old. It’s not that hard to figure out.”

“Yeah?” Roy challenged.

“There’s no way she can understand all this,” she replied. “This isn’t her world. They’ll all be leaving soon and – ”

“What?” Roy looked up sharply. “They’re leaving?”

“As soon as the humans are healed, yes.”

“Says who?”

“Nils. Don’t you talk to him about anything?”

Roy went silent, and resumed his pacing. She knew as well as he that he’d avoided his uncle at all costs for the past three weeks.

“You know she can’t stay here,” Lilina went on, her voice falling sympathetically. “And this is where you belong. That’s why your mother sent you to us, isn’t it?”

He stopped, his expression twisting, though he turned away so she couldn’t see.

“I don’t know what the – ” he cursed, “ – I’m doing here.”

Lilina watched him for a moment then took a step closer.

“I do.” She placed her hand on Roy’s shoulder. “Ready to try again?”

Roy almost spoke, but the sound of soft footsteps approaching startled him.

“Hello, there.” Nils smiled as he crossed the Hall towards them, walking, as he always did, with his arms crossed behind his back, looking like a child on a stroll, noting interesting scenery as he passed by.

Roy grunted and jerked away from Lilina, deliberately not looking at the balcony. He knew she was gone.

“How goes the training?” Nils asked, ignoring Roy’s less than enthusiastic greeting.

“Can’t hold a transformation to save his life and still bursts into flames if you throw him into a hissy fit,” Lilina replied. “So, actually, much better!”

“Oh, ha ha.” Roy sneered. “Thanks for your support.”

Nils looked between them. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about this arrangement,” he said, turning specifically to Lilina as he said it. “Given his lineage, it makes sense his development will be slower.”

“Twenty-four and he can’t even grow a tail,” Lilina scoffed. “Human blood… does it every time.”

Even Nils’ eyes narrowed at that one.

“Be that as it may,” he went on. “I can’t help but think that Roy might benefit from a different approach of teaching. I’m willing to help, in any way I can.”

“You’re an ice dragon,” Roy replied skeptically, folding his arms across his bare chest. “What could you possibly teach me?”

Nils stared back silently for a long moment. “Nothing,” he replied. “If you’re not willing to listen.”

“Well, I think I’m doing just fine the way things are!” Roy retorted, though he turned and crossed the hall away from them.

“What are you doing?” Lilina asked, cocking her head as she watched him throw a fresh shirt on. “That’s just going to end up in cinders,” she warned.

“I’m done,” he said sharply, doing up the buttons.

“Done?” She raised her eyebrows. “It’s barely noon. You can’t – ”

“I’ll be back later!” he snapped, ducking behind a curtain to throw on a pair of un-singed pants.

He struggled with shaking hands, and an uncomfortable heat in his cheeks he couldn’t make go away. His heart beat faster with every second that he fought with his clothes. He could still feel her long, spindly fingers on his chest. Warmth against warmth.

He cringed, and pushed out from behind the curtain, forced to face the empty banister across the hall. With his head down and a burning in his eyes that he knew had nothing to do with fire, he trudged out of the hall, heading back to his room.

Lilina and Nils stared after him for a moment before Nils sighed.

“What?” she asked, her voice already accusing.

He turned to her, his eyes as cold as ice.

“Leave the boy out of it,” he ordered.

“Out of what?” she asked again, picking at one of her nails, making little shots of sparks fly into the air.

His eyes narrowed. “Whatever grudge you still hold with me, I’m begging you, Lilly. Don’t take it out on him.”

“So, I’m Lilly now again, am I?” she scoffed. “Haven’t heard you call me that in what, a millennia or so?”

“Lilina – ” he warned. “He’s a child.”

“He doesn’t look like a child to me,” she replied with a quirk of her brow.

Nil’s face twisted, but she laughed before he could reply.

“You’re jealous!” She poked his chest, then went still, searching his expression. “And you’ve already seen it.” Her voice fell with quiet shock. “You already know.”

“They don’t work that way, you know that,” Nils said tightly, his shoulders tensing.

“Then why the warning, Nillsy?” A shaft of sunlight through the archways caught her eyes with an illuminating flash of scarlet.

“He still has a choice.” An unusually low gravel filled Nils’ voice. “You both do.”

Lilina’s eyes narrowed slightly but she shrugged. “I’ve already made mine.”

Without waiting for a response, she pushed off with one foot, seamlessly transforming into a long, red dragon as she rose into the air. She beat her wings once, sending a rush of cold air against Nil’s face, then took off through the open archways at the end of the hall. Before he could blink, she was nothing but a dark speck in the distant, blue sky.




*****




“Does it feel funny when he moves?” Manasa asked, still sitting curled up on the bed beside Zelda where Elice had left them.

“A little,” Zelda replied, lying down on her side to give her back a rest from the strain of the baby’s weight. “Like fluttering at first. I’ve felt a few real kicks though. Link gets so jealous,” she laughed. “He says the baby knows and only kicks when he isn’t around. Link thinks he’s teasing him.”

Manasa smiled, and rested her chin on her knees. “He’s really… excited, isn’t he?”

Zelda’s eyes softened, almost glowing. “He’s never been so happy about anything in his life.” She ran her hands slowly over her stomach.

“He really loves you,” Manasa nudged a little further.

Zelda turned her chin to the side on the mattress to look straight into Ciara’s face. “He does.”

Manasa nodded, biting her lip as she hesitated. “He used to scare me,” she admitted softly, barely peeking up over her knees as she said it.

Zelda paused heavily. “I know.”

“But, I’m not anymore.” Mana smiled a little, though she remained curled up tightly. “He did something really nice for me. Even if he didn’t mean it to be,” she added.

“Yeah?” Zelda asked, smiling back even more brightly.

“Mhmm.” Manasa lifted her head a touch. “I think… he’s a good man.” She paused, letting her voice fall. “I never really knew those existed before.”

Zelda watched her quietly as Manasa shifted her chin back to the side, resting it on her knee.

“I think you’ve found one, too,” Zelda offered quietly.

Mana paused, turning to look up again.

“Zelda?”

“Hm?”

“Can I tell – can I show you something?” Her heart leapt anxiously.

Zelda lifted her chin up onto her hand, and started to speak, but the door furled open and slammed shut so quickly that they both jumped.

“Elice?” Zelda gasped, but got no response.

Elice fell down on the bed with such force that she cried out and cringed around her entire body, already sobbing.

“Elice,” Zelda said softly, sitting up as quickly as she could.

Elice moaned again, moving her hands to her stomach, but stopping just short of touching it, and making it hurt worse.

“Careful,” Zelda warned. She and Manasa gently helped Elice settle on her back, where her skin was undamaged and she could get the most relief.

“What happened?” Zelda asked, already moving for the bag of healing supplies, but Manasa jumped up and got them first, saving Zelda from the unnecessary movement.

Elice didn’t answer. She just shook her head and cried, every muscle in her body tensed with pain.

Manasa and Zelda exchanged a knowing, anxious frown, but Zelda quickly turned away. She carefully peeled the bandages off of Elice’s stomach, revealing the still red, partially scarred-over burns that ran up and down her skin.

Elice’s cries softened as Zelda smoothed a cooling potion over the irritated burns.

Manasa watched for a few minutes, but the softer Elice’s whimpers fell, the more furious Manasa grew. She clenched her fists and tried to bite it back, if nothing else to keep herself from bursting right out of Ciara’s disguise and back into her own body.

“He’s not coming,” Elice whispered, scrunching her eyes shut with tears and another painful surge through her burns.

A small, broken sound was all that Zelda could manage. She paused, then went back to wrapping Elice’s stomach, not noticing as Ciara slipped out of the door.

***

Manasa hurried down the corridor, shaking so badly she only hoped she could make it back to her room before she transformed. She rounded the corner so quickly that she didn’t notice Marth coming until she bumped into his chest.

“Oh!” she gasped.

“Hey.” Marth held her shoulders and looked down at her, but his smile faded quickly. “Are you all right?”

She glimpsed Link, standing just behind Marth’s shoulder, and shook her head frantically. “No.”

“Come here.” Marth hurried her into an empty room off the hallway, and shut the door behind them.

She barely gave herself time to glance around the room before she let out her breath and slipped back into her own body, then immediately into Marth’s arms.

He held her for a moment while Link stood guard at the door, then slowly pushed her shoulders back to look at her. “What’s wrong?”

Her chin trembled and she pumped her already shaking fists, barely able to force out her voice.

“Roy,” she growled. “That selfish, dirty - ”

“Hey,” Marth cut quietly over her cursing and rubbed her shoulders, though she could see bitterness harden in his eyes. “What did he do?”

“Nothing,” she spat. “Nothing!” Her voice cracked with angry tears. “She deserves better than this! She’s just waiting for him to come back! She still loves him! It’s so stupid! How could she….” She leaned her face into Marth’s chest and sobbed. “How could I be so stupid?”

Marth rubbed her back and held her for a long time until she calmed down.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he whispered, kissing her forehead softly. “And we’re here to help her. You’re here to help her.”

Mana nodded, wiping her palms roughly across her eyes. “She won’t have to be alone,” she managed with a throb in her voice.

“No,” Marth assured. “No, she’s not.”

“But you,” Mana’s eyes narrowed and she tipped her head back to look up into his face. “You can’t let him – ” Her eyes darted to Link, still standing sentinel at the door. “You can’t let him get away with this!”

Marth exchanged a silent glance with Link.

“No, we’re not letting him ‘get away’ with anything,” Marth promised. “But this is complicated, Manasa. Link and I, we’ve been with Nils all morning, talking.”

“Nils?” Mana’s shoulders tightened. He scared her. She didn’t know why. She knew he shouldn’t. But he did. “What did you have to – ”

“He’s the guardian Mage of this temple,” Marth replied. “He knows… everything,” he settled on the word with awe.

“He was there during the Scourging,” Link explained, moving closer to the pair now. “One of the only Manaketes in Elibe to survive it, actually. He and his sister are the ones who put the Seal on the Dragon’s Gate. He stayed in Harmony to protect it from this side, and she went back to Elibe, to protect it from our side.”

“Ninian,” Manasa replied, feeling a little twinge at the mention of Roy’s mother.

“It was a two-way Seal,” Marth went on. “One that wasn’t meant to last forever.”

“They wanted it broken,” Link folded his arms, and leaned against the wall. “The only problem is, you.”

Manasa paused, knitting her brow. “Me?”

“Nils wants to talk to you,” Marth replied, taking Mana’s hand in his. “He… he knows.”

“Knows what?” Manasa’s breathing quickened.

“That you’re a Sentei. And that the Black Fang sent you,” Marth said, keeping his voice calm and even. “He wouldn’t say any more than that.”

“But, how,” Manasa fretted, fidgeting and letting her eyes dart about the room, searching for help. “How could he know that?” She looked at Link. “Did you – ”

“He just knew,” Link answered, his eyes growing distant. “He knows a lot of things.”

“He has the gift of Foresight,” Marth explained.

“So he knows?” Manasa jumped up from her seat. “He knew I was coming?”

“He can’t see everything. His visions are subjective, and he says things change all the time,” Marth continued his attempts to soothe her worries. “He knew we were coming. Well, not us, specifically. Or when, or how…. But they’ve been waiting for twenty-five years for Ninian’s child to return with her Key and open that Gate.”

“He knows,” Manasa repeated again softly, wringing her hands.

“Manasa.” Marth put his hands on her cheeks to still her. “He just wants to talk to you. I’ll come with you if you want. It will be fine, I promise.”

She shut her eyes and leaned into his hands. “Okay.”

“You contacted Vale, right?” Link asked.

“I made contact,” Manasa replied, not opening her eyes. “A few days before we reached the island. Before the barrier cut off connection.”

“And how long did you tell them?”

“I lied.” Fear penetrated her voice. “I said we’d just left port. With the connection dead and the false information, we have a good two or three more weeks before they’ll be here.”

“See? This is just what we wanted,” Marth reminded her. “To get here first, and warn them of the Black Fang’s plan. When you speak to Nils, we’ll tell him everything. It’s going to be fine.” He ran his hand down the side of her head through her hair.

Manasa gave a shuddering sigh and opened her eyes. “This is it,” she whispered.

Marth hesitated, watching curiously.

“They’ll know. They’ll know I’ve betrayed them. They’ll know I’m working against them.” She searched his eyes for strength. “They won’t stop now until they’ve found us, and I’m dead.”

Marth’s hands tightened around her cheeks, then he drew her into his arms.

“I won’t let that happen,” he promised, his voice quivering with the power of his conviction. “None of us will.” He kissed her softly, then held her face again. “I’ll protect you.”

“We all will,” Link piped up quietly. “You’re one of us, now.”

Tears beaded in Manasa’s eyes as Marth nodded, and stroked his thumbs across her cheeks.

“I promise,” he whispered, circling his strong arms around her body again. “Promise….”




*****




Elice lay for a long while after Zelda left, staring at the widely arched ceiling above her bed in silence. The sheer curtains across the balcony entrance swayed, then fell still.

It was so silent here. No sounds of birds chirping in the summer breeze. No rustle of leaves outside. No voices in the hall. Nothing but her own helplessly swirling thoughts to keep her company, and the knowledge that he’d seen her, then turned away.

She barely registered the knock on the door, and didn’t even bother to turn her head as she heard footsteps coming inside. She closed her eyes and rolled tenderly onto her side, hoping that whoever it was would think she was asleep, and just leave her alone.

Bare feet padded softly across the floor, then stopped, and she waited in silence while a knot twisted in her stomach.

“I’m fine, Zelda,” she said finally, her heart already pounding. “You can – ”

“Elice?”

Her heart clenched and she lay for a moment, paralyzed by the sound of his voice. Tears blurred her eyes and she clutched the pillow up to her face, glad that her back was turned to him, so he couldn’t see her wince in pain.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been to see you,” he said slowly, staring at the floor as he spoke. “I’ve just been really busy with stuff and didn’t want to bother you.”

He paused, and she cringed against the pillow.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.” He started again, swallowing tightly to keep the throb out of his voice. “About us and… everything.”

Everything?

The last memory she had of him was of their bodies pressed close together in the most vulnerable, intimate moment of her life. Then nothing but pain. And waiting for him to come back. Now here he was. She couldn’t even bring herself to look him in the eye. She knew it was already too late.

“I’m – ” Roy’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat, drawing his shaking hands together to fumble with something between his fingers. “I’ve decided to stay here.”

She didn’t move but for the tears streaming from her eyes, staring straight ahead, and seeing nothing.

“We both know,” he forged on, not masking the tremor in his voice this time. “We both know it’ll never work. This is where I belong and you….”

A muffled sob caught in her throat, shaking her shoulders. She knew he could hear it now, and she didn’t care.

Roy stared at her, her thin, trembling form lying under the blankets, curled up and shaking with tears he couldn’t comfort. His fingers twitched and he reached out, barely catching the whimper in his throat before he jerked his hand back and balled it into a tight fist.

His palm curled around the small, circular object in his hand. Tears sprang to his eyes.

He took a step forward, already breaking inside.

Roy pressed his tight, sweaty palm to the mattress beside her pillow and screwed up his face in agony as he forced out the only words he could say to the only woman he’d ever loved. The only woman he would ever love.

“Go home,” he whispered.

Elice shuddered as the pressure of his arm left the bed, catapulting her into a momentary state of weightlessness, with nothing to catch her when she fell.

The door slammed behind him and she lay still. Each breath caught in her throat, choked off by tears that couldn’t reach the depth of the hole he’d left in her heart.

Slowly, she turned her cheek against the pillow, welcoming the hot flash of pain that shot through her skin as she did so. The last warmth she’d ever feel from him. The last touch from his skin she’d ever receive.

Tears blurred her eyes. She could barely focus her vision as she reached out and grasped the small, ivory button he’d left beside her pillow. The button she’d left on his bedside fifteen years ago. The etchings of the Aritian crest were nearly worn off from constant touch. But still there.

He’d kept it.

She clutched it to her, unaware of her own sobs, or the wracking pain of her burns as she trembled and wept, holding his goodbye to her heart.

Still warm.




*****